Green-Wood Cemetery

Green-wood Cemetery

Green-Wood Cemetery
was founded in 1838 when this part of Brooklyn was still rural.
Brooklyn social leader Henry Evelyn Pierrepoint spearheaded
the formation of the cemetery, which was inspired by the
naturalistic English landscape of Mount Auburn Cemetery
in Cambridge, MA. The original layout for the cemetery
was designed by landscape architect David Bates Douglass.
The 478 acres have a varied terrain formed by glacial moraines
and feature both the highest point in Brooklyn (Battle Hill)
and four glacial kettle ponds. It has been a tourist
destination since the mid 19th century and, as of this
writing, is the final resting place of around 600,000 persons.
The cemetery was designated
National Historic Landmark in 2006

If you're into such things, it's a lovely way to spend a summer
or autumn afternoon. This was a much coveted final resting spot
in the 19th century and is, accordingly, a great historical
experience just a subway ride away.

The Gothic Revival main entrance gate building was designed by
Richard M. Upjohn and built in 1861 with Bellville brownstone.
The gateways feature sculptured groups designed by John M. Moffitt
that depict biblical scenes. The center spire is home to a group
of monk parakeets that are descended from South American birds
that escaped their cages in the 1960s from Idlewild Airport (now JFK)
a few miles to the southeast.

10/15/2008 02:25 PM
Main entrance off Fifth Avenue

10/15/2008 02:27 PM
Main entrance gate building

10/15/2008 05:19 PM
East side, Fifth Avenue gate building

10/31/2008 02:02 PM
Main entrance gate building (viewed from the east)

10/31/2008 02:04 PM
Main entrance gate building (viewed from the east)

10/15/2008 05:20 PM
Parrot nests

10/15/2008 05:21 PM
City Landmark marker on main entrance gate building

Findagrave

FindAGrave.com is a a site with information
on the final resting places of many famous and not-so-famous persons. People can also
request photos of gravesites of their relatives, and the requests are e-mailed to
folks who have signed up on the site and are located nearby the cemetery of interest.
I received such a request for Green-Wood Cemetery, which lead to a list of around 20
outstanding photo requests, and to my subsequent visits.

Finding gravesites, especially old ones, can be quite a challenge since it is often
difficult to get accurate location information for specific gravesites. And even when
such information is available, older gravestones are often weathered beyond recognition
or missing altogether.

Green-Wood Cemetery provides access to burial database information both
through their website and from a kiosk in the Fifth Avenue gate house building. The
kiosk computer displays and prints map sections that can lead you to the section and
lot for a particular gravesite. However, the lots are rarely clearly deliniated
on the ground and since some lots can be quite large and densely populated, the search
for a particular grave can take awhile. And there is no assurance that a legible stone
still exists for the grave. Marble stones from the late 19th and early 20th century
are especially problematic since marble is porus annd almost all of them have weathered
beyond recognition (unlike granite stones). They also, tragically, often represent
the missing links in folks' genealogical searches.

Below are some case studies on the some gravesite searches I did in Green-Wood
Cemetery - some successful, some not.

Angel Ramon Ramirez (1979-2007)

Marine Lance Corporal Angel Ramon Ramirez died in California in 2007 following a
non-hostile incident in Al Quaim, Iraq in December, 2006. It was an honor to
photograph his grave, but it also made me quite angry that he had to make so
great a sacrifice for such a morally ambiguous cause.

10/15/2008 03:09 PM
LCPL Angel Ramon Ramirez

10/15/2008 03:09 PM
LCPL Angel Ramon Ramirez

10/15/2008 03:09 PM
LCPL Angel Ramon Ramirez

Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990)

Leonard Bernstein was one of
the most important figures in American music in the mid 20th century. Aside from a
lengthy and illustrious career as an orchestral conductor, he was also a composer of
both theatrical and concert pieces, with his score for the musical and movie
West Side Story being perhaps his best-loved and remembered work.

10/15/2008 03:19 PM
Leonard Bernstein gravesite

10/15/2008 03:20 PM
Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990)

10/15/2008 03:20 PM
Shirley Ann Bernstein (Lenny's sister)

10/15/2008 03:21 PM
Leonard and Felicia Montealegre Bernstein

10/15/2008 03:21 PM
Leonard Bernstein gravesite

10/15/2008 03:22 PM
Leonard Bernstein gravesite

10/15/2008 03:21 PM
Leonard and Felicia Montealegre Bernstein

John Kennion (1830-1886) / Angeline Pereira (1872-1915)

John Wilberforce Kennion was a wandering soul who was born
in England and at various times was a surgeon, newspaperman and
street preacher. Fittingly, perhaps, there is no clear marker for his
gravesite, whatever stone there was long since lost to the elements.
The cemetery database lists him as being buried in section 127, lot
3139, grave 412, although the lots here seem to have been renumbered
as the map displays lot 10841. Few graves in this section have legible
markers. An arm of Meadow Avenue once ran through this section, but
it was being removed to add additional grave plots.

Angeline Lyons Pereira had a somewhat more conventional but
brief life, being married at age 16 to Charles Smith and, a year
later, to Charles Francis Pereira, ultimately bearing him nine
children. Her database listing places her in section 127, lot 17931,
but as with John Kennion, the map displays lot 10841. And also
as with Mr. Kennion, a fairly thorough search of the lot
was unsuccessful in finding any trace of her headstone.

I was not completely certain that I had found the correct lot,
but a cemetery security guard volunteered to help with my search
and confirmed this was the right place. Tommy was an interesting
character - his grandfather had worked in the cemetery and he
had just joined the staff a few months before my visit. Health
problems derailed a promising baseball career and he found the
relative peace of security work as both quieting and stimulating
when he had the opportunity to assist visitors in locating graves.

Freda Obenland (1846-1922)

Freda Obenland is listed in the database as being buried in section 136, lot 28070, grave 379.
Given the comparatively recent burial, I was hoping that her stone might still be intact
but I was not so fortunate. While there were only a few stones weathered to illegibility,
there were also a number of stones that were sinking deep into the soft dirt and thick
grass. It is possible that if she had an in-ground stone, it had sunk beneath the surface
over the years.

Fred Ebb (1928 - 2004)

Fred Ebb was a musical theatre lyricist best known for his collaborations
with composer John Kander, especially their songs for Cabaret,
Chicago, Kiss of the Spider Woman. They wrote the song
"New York, New York" as well as a number of songs that
were very important in the careers of Barbara Streisand and Liza Minelli.

Ebb is interred in a mausoleum in Section 20 (lot 43458) on the south edge of
Sylvan Water. He shares the mausoleum with Edwin Aldridge (1929-1997) and
Martin Cohen (1926-1995). I'm not entirely certain what the relationship
between the three was, but Aldridge stage managed a number of Kander/Ebb
shows and his obit in the NY Times lists Ebb as his surviving friend.

William Turner (1856-1904)

William C. Turner is listed in the cemetery database as buried in
lot 20118, section 6. As with the Warners, this is a large, old lot
with numerous unreadable headstones and I was unable to find a specific grave
site for him.

10/22/2008 04:30 PM
Lot 20118, Section 6

Henry Englehard Steinway (1797-1871)

Henry Steinway
was the founder of the famed Steinway and Sons Piano Company. He is interred with
numerous other members of his family in this mausoleum on Lot 15388, Section 46.

10/22/2008 04:46 PM
Steinway mausoleum

William "Boss" Tweed (1823-1873)

Boss Tweed
was the force behind the corrupt Tammany Hall political machine that dominated
NYC politics in the late 19th century. Tweed and numerous members of his family
are interred in this plot on Lot 6447, Section 55.

Thomas Michael Walsh (1963-2008)

Although he is listed in the "Vista" section (aka section 71)
lot 44605, there was no gravestone with his name. However, there was a
Walsh stone with recently disturbed dirt in front of it, so presumably that
is a family burial location and Thomas' name hasn't yet been added to the stone.

10/22/2008 05:24 PM
Lot 44605 - Vista Section

10/22/2008 05:26 PM
John and Patrick Walsh

10/22/2008 05:26 PM
John and Patrick Walsh

William C. Lash (1872-1904)

William C. Lash and his wife Annie lived in Brooklyn and had six children.
He is buried in lot 17245, section 17. This is an extremely large lot on the
southwest corner of the cemetery with numerous unreadable stones and I was
unable to find a specific gravesite for him.

10/31/2008 01:21 PM
Section 17

10/31/2008 01:19 PM
Section 17

10/31/2008 01:18 PM
Section 17

Mary G. Kennion (1881-1958)

The gravesite of
Mary Kennion is a bit of a mystery. She was buried in 1958,
limiting the potential that her headstone would be missing or illegible. Her
database entry lists her in section 124, lot 35899, grave FRC. That lot is
right behind the oft-photographed Van Ness - Parsons pyramid mausoleum. However,
the gravestone in that lot is for the Pakenham family, including a daughter,
Hannah, who was interred in 1950. There is no physical indication that Mary Kennion
or her husband Charles (d. 1956) are buried here.

10/31/2008 01:39 PM
Mary Kennion kiosk map display

Section 124, Lot 35899

10/31/2008 03:11 PM
Lot 35899

10/31/2008 03:14 PM
Lot 35899

10/31/2008 03:13 PM
John, Ellen and Hannah Pakenham (lot 35899)

10/31/2008 03:13 PM
George Roehm (lot 35237)

10/31/2008 03:10 PM
Van Ness - Parsons pyramid mausoleum

10/31/2008 03:11 PM
Van Ness - Parsons pyramid mausoleum

Clement Harron (1844-1915)

Clement Harron is listed in the database as being buried in section 93, lot 2235,
although the displayed map places him in lot 1014. There is one headstone in that
lot, although it appears to be older than 1915 and what few legible characters are
on the stone do not appear to spell out Clement or Harron. So, I can't be entirely
certain whether or not this is the correct grave location.

Pauline Huber Hess (1842-1909)

Pauline Huber Hess is listed in the database as being buried in
Section D, Lot 18513, Grave 4. That is a narrow, old lot with numerous
missing and unreadable stones. While I was unable to locate a stone
for Pauline, I was able to locate stones for Henry and Georg Hess,
so presumably this was a family plot.

Lot 18513 map

10/31/2008 03:37 PM
Public lot 18513

10/31/2008 03:37 PM
Public lot 18513

10/31/2008 03:43 PM
Henry Hess (1871-1886)

10/31/2008 03:43 PM
Sarah Dodds McKenzie

10/31/2008 03:44 PM
Georg Hess (1831-1882)

10/31/2008 03:46 PM
Hess family plot?

10/31/2008 03:44 PM
Tree over Hess family plot

10/31/2008 03:47 PM
Weathered headstones

10/31/2008 03:47 PM
Public lot 18513

10/31/2008 03:48 PM
Public lot 18513

10/31/2008 03:48 PM
Public lot 18513

10/31/2008 03:49 PM
Public lot 18513

William Haveron (1851-1907)

William Haveron was a shipping agent. He is interred in Section 117, Lot 10975, Grave 978.

Public Lot 10975

10/31/2008 03:59 PM
Public Lot 284

10/31/2008 03:59 PM
Public Lot 10975

10/31/2008 04:02 PM
Lot 10975

10/31/2008 04:04 PM
William Haveron

10/31/2008 04:04 PM
William Haveron

10/31/2008 04:05 PM
Lot 10975

10/31/2008 04:05 PM
Lot 10975

Louise Haveron

The cemetery database lists
Louise Haveron (1857-1879) as being buried in section 86, lot 18066.
One of her relatives said someone else had unsuccessfully looked for the
grave and asked if I would give it a spin. The grave supposedly contains
four persons, Louise, her parents John and Eliza, and a Mary E. McLaughlin.
Although this is a fairly old section of the cemetery, thankfully, the lot
was fairly small, saving me the hours of futile looking that are typical
when a grave that old is in a large, indistinct lot. Lot 18066 is just to
the west of lot 1898, which has a marker. A fairly recent grave for Frederic
and Helen (1919-2004) Price is listed in the database indicating that this
is definitely lot 18066 and that the Haverons do not have an extant grave
marker of any kind. Surrounding graves for G.P Merkel (d. 1871 - lot 1597?),
Daniel W. Teller (lot 17340?) and (unknown) Mackenzie are not in the database,
indicating that the database seems to be missing a significant number of
older graves.

12/18/2008 03:57 PM
Lot 18066 viewed from the southwest

12/18/2008 09:07 PM
Section 86 map from cemetery kiosk

12/18/2008 03:57 PM
Lot 1898 marker (just to the east of lot 18066) with Price gravestone in slot 18066

Eliza White England (1813-1888)

Eliza White England is buried in
section A, lot 9146, grave 478. This was another old, poorly marked
section of the cemetery like section 127 and I was concerned that
I would likewise be unsuccessful in finding the grave. However,
the headstone was granite, helping it survive the elements intact
and legible.